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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §22.1.11.pr-22.1.11.1

Attribution of Penalty Interest and Risk in Loans of Public Money

Passage 3171 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The text discusses to whom the excess penalty interest belongs when public money is lent out, and addresses the equity of offsetting uncollectible debts with the higher penalty interest when the municipality does not bear all risks.

[IDEM libro uicesimo quinto quaestionum. ] §22.1.11.prGaius Seius qui rem publicam gerebat faenerauit pecuniam publicam sub usuris solitis: fuit autem consuetudo, ut intra certa tempora non inlatis usuris grauiores infligerentur: quidam debitores cessauerunt in soluendis usuris, quidam plus intulerunt et sic effectum est, ut omne quod usurarum nomine competebat etiam pro his, qui cessauerant in usuris, suppleatur.
[THE SAME, Questions, Book 25.] Gaius Seius, who was managing public affairs, lent out public money at the customary rate of interest. However, there was a custom that if the interest was not paid within a certain time, heavier interest should be imposed. Some debtors defaulted in paying their interest, but others paid more, and thus it came about that the entire sum due under the head of interest was made up, even for those who had defaulted on the interest.
quaesitum est, an illud, quod amplius ex consuetudine poenae nomine a quibusdam exactum est, ipsi Seio proficere deberet an rei publicae lucro cederet.
The question was raised whether that which was exacted in excess from certain persons under the name of a penalty according to custom ought to benefit Seius himself, or accrue to the profit of the municipality.
respondi, si Gaius Seius a debitoribus usuras stipulatus esset, eas solas rei publicae praestari oportere, quae secundum formam ab is exigi solent, etiamsi non omnia nomina idonea sint.
I answered that if Gaius Seius had stipulated for interest from the debtors, only that interest ought to be handed over to the municipality which is customary to be exacted from them according to the regular form, even if not all the accounts are solvent.
§22.1.11.1Quid si seruus publicus obligationem usurarum rei publicae adquisiit? aequum est, quamuis ipso iure usurae rei publicae debeantur, tamen pro defectis nominibus compensationem maiorum usurarum fieri, si non sit parata res publica uniuersorum debitorum fortunam suscipere.
What if a public slave has acquired the obligation of interest for the municipality? Although by operation of law the interest is due to the municipality, yet if the municipality is not prepared to take upon itself the risk of all the debtors, it is equitable that a compensation for the failed debts should be made out of the higher interest.
eadem fere in tutoribus Marcellus refert.
Marcellus reports much the same in the case of tutors.

Notes

  1. §22.1.11.prgrauiores — The adjective grauiores ('heavier', 'higher') is understood with the omission of the feminine noun usurae ('interest') from the preceding ablative absolute clause non inlatis usuris. It refers to the practice of imposing a higher penalty interest rate in case of default.
  2. §22.1.11.prnomina — The noun nomen (plural nomina) here refers to 'claims' or 'debts' (literally 'names' in an account book). Nomina idonea means 'solvent debts' or 'collectible claims', indicating a scenario where not all outstanding debts are fully recoverable.
  3. §22.1.11.1compensationem maiorum usurarum fieri — An accusative-with-infinitive clause serving as the subject of the impersonal expression aequum est ('it is equitable'). The genitive maiorum usurarum ('of the higher interests') specifies the means or substance of the compensation, meaning that the loss from uncollectible debts (pro defectis nominibus) is offset or compensated for by the higher penalty interest collected.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §22.1.11.pr-22.1.11.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:22.1.11.pr-22.1.11.1

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